September 2017

"Daddy...can I ask you a question?" asked Sammy looking up from his homework. Spencer had the day off and had picked him from school and they were waiting for Catherine and Abby to get home.

"Sure," said/signed Spencer.

"You and mommy had pictures of Abby when she was in mommy, do you have pictures of when I was in my other mommy?" asked Sammy.

"Yes we do. Would you like to see them when mommy and Abby get home from school?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah," said Sammy looking a little worried.

"Is there something bothering you?" asked Spencer. Sammy shrugged and Spencer sat down next to him and looked at him. "We have to talk when things are bothering us," said Spencer. A rule Catherine had set down since the children could talk. Sammy sat his homework aside and looked at Spencer.

"Did my other mommy and daddy not like me?" asked Sammy.

"Why would you think that?" asked Spencer. They had another talk with Abby and Sammy right before school started about how he was adopted and if they had any questions he could ask them any time.

"There's a girl in my class and she's adopted too, but she said her mommy and daddy got her from another country and some of the other boys were mean about it. They said her parents sent her away like a dog," said Sammy clearly upset. It was still amazing to Spencer how cruel children could be to each other at times.

"I know she was not sent away like a dog and neither were you. Your birth mom and dad loved you very much and we love very much," said Spencer. Sammy was about to say something when they heard the front door open and Abby called out they were home. Catherine came into the dining room and noticed how worried Spencer looked and how upset Sammy was.

"What's going on?" asked Catherine sitting her bag down.

"I need to talk to your mom for a minute. Can you take your homework upstairs?" asked Spencer. Sammy nodded and took his stuff upstairs and Catherine sat down.

"What's wrong?" asked Catherine. Spencer filled her in on what happened today and Catherine sighed. "Well I guess it's time for a longer more in depth talk." They had tried to keep it simple since the kids were young and bring the story up bit by bit. There was so much history to go into considering Spencer's history with Savannah's mother and how Savannah came into their lives.

"Can we eat before we start?" asked Catherine.

"Please," signed Spencer. He started dinner while Catherine got the kids through their homework. They had dinner and Catherine pulled out one of her scrapbooks and they all sat down to talk.

"Daddy said you wanted to see pictures of your other mom," said/signed Catherine and Sammy nodded. Catherine opened one of the scrapbooks and pulled out a picture of Savannah from her graduation.

"This is her when she finished high school. That little bump is you," said/signed Catherine handing the picture to Sammy. He looked at it and Abby leaned over to and looked at it too.

"You and daddy knew her?" asked Abby.

"We did," said/signed Spencer.

"I taught her and I taught your other dad when they were school together," explained Catherine.

"Did they like me?" asked Sammy looking at Catherine.

"Yes they did sweetie, but having a baby is a lot of work and they knew that you needed someone who could take care of you all the time and give you a good home. They knew daddy and I had Abby and that we had a good home for you to be in. So they asked us if we would like to have you and we said yes," explained Catherine.

"You won't give me back for adoption? Or Abby" asked Sammy.

"No," said/signed Spencer. Sammy looked worried and Spencer looked at him. "Listen to me ...we're family and we love you and Abby both very much. What that boy said today was wrong. It wasn't that you weren't loved, you were loved very much."

"Do you and daddy still talk to them?" asked Abby.

"I write them letters and I send them pictures of you and Sammy. Grandma Elisa also tells them how we're doing. I was going to write a letter tonight and tell them about your first day of school. Would you two like to write something?" asked Catherine.

"You won't read it?' asked Sammy.

"You put it an envelope and I won't look," promised Catherine. Sammy hugged her tightly and she kissed him on the forehead. He went upstairs and Abby looked at them.

"Yes sweetie?" asked Spencer.

"Can I write them too?" asked Abby.

"I don't see why not," said/signed Spencer. Abby hugged them and went upstairs. Catherine looked at him and she looked tired.

"Do they seem ok to you with all this?" asked Catherine.

"Yes. I know we're going to have to go into more details the older they get, but for right now I think we've told them what they needed to know and could understand," said/signed Spencer. He reached over and squeezed her hand. The kids came down a little while later with two folded up pieces of paper. True to her word, Catherine put both letters in an envelope and than put them in with the letter and picture she was going to send to Savannah and Saul in Chicago.

"I'm going to mail them out tomorrow ok," said/signed Catherine.

"Can daddy tell us a story?" asked Abby.

"You know that is a silly question," said/signed Spencer as the kids settled on the sofa next to them. Spencer was reciting Alice in Wonderland to them from memory and it always amazed her how quickly he could get their attention without a book with pictures. They had stories that were only read when he was home and books they read when he was gone, it was habit that helped the kids when Spencer was away. Abby dozed off next to her and Sammy was starting to nod off.

"I think we'll finish this later," said/signed Spencer.

"But..." protested Sammy and Spencer shook his head.

"You have school tomorrow and so does mommy and Abby and I have to go to work tomorrow so everyone has to go to bed," said/signed Spencer. Catherine woke Abby up and they headed upstairs to bed. Catherine was tucking Abby in when she grabbed Catherine's hand.

"Why did you and daddy want Sammy?" asked Abby.

"It's hard to explain sweetie. Daddy and I knew we wanted to have another baby and when Sammy's birth parents asked us if we wanted Sammy it just felt right," explained Catherine. Abby looked thoughtful for a moment, it was so much like Spencer when he was in deep thought.

"You wanted me too?" she asked.

"Very much," signed Catherine giving her a kiss. Abby settled in with her stuffed cat and Catherine turned on her nightlight before shutting the door. She checked on Sammy and found he was already asleep. Spencer was downstairs making them tea.

"You were upstairs for awhile," signed Spencer.

"Abby had some follow up questions for me? How did we know we wanted Sammy? Did we want her?"

"What did you tell her?" asked Spencer.

"I told her I really wasn't sure how we knew we wanted Sammy, but that it just felt right. I told her that we wanted her too. She seemed ok with that," signed Catherine. He handed her a cup of tea and they sat there quietly.

"I wish they could understand how much we really wanted them," said Catherine.

…...

Twenty-five years later-2042

"I'm nervous," signed Catherine.

"Why? You and Sammy talk all the time," signed Spencer. Catherine rolled her eyes and motioned towards the stage.

"Yeah I talk to Sammy all the time. I don't talk to Sammy in front of thousands of people. He sold out Eisenhower Theater! When he asked me to talk on one his shows I didn't think it would be this. I thought it would just be us at his house with one of his assistants...not this," signed Catherine and she started pacing. Spencer grabbed her hand and smiled at her.

"It's going to be fine," signed Spencer. Catherine just gave him a look and than peaked out at the stage. Sammy had been trying for months to get Catherine to come on one of his on line radio shows and when she finally agreed to it he sprung on her that he had booked Eisenhower Theater for one of his radio shows and that he would have her on that one. Sammy's wife Ellie shrugged and grinned at how shocked Catherine looked.

"He's your son," teased Ellie. Catherine looked over to Spencer, he just grinned and adjusted his granddaughter Sofia in his arms. Sofia had just turned six months old and was half dozing in his arms. Ellie and Sammy had only been married for two months. Sammy had met Ellie when she was doing research at the FBI and she agreed to help him with his research for his TV show based on some of the BAU cases. Ellie still did research from time to time, but she had mostly quit to raise Sofia.

"It was only a matter of time you know. He already conned Abby, Savannah and Saul on," said/signed Spencer when Sammy, Ellie and Sofia had left.

"I don't know why...Abby, Savannah and Sual have much more interesting lives than me," signed Catherine. Abby was a history professor in Seattle and Savannah was working in New York as a costume designer with Saul who was a fundraiser for a charity.

Catherine had retired earlier this year and it was only a few months until he retired from the BAU. Over twenty years of service and it was about to come to an end. He wasn't sure what they were going to do. Abby was going to get married later on this year, he and Catherine had debated staying here in DC to be near Sammy and Ellie or maybe going to stay with Abby to help with her wedding planning.

"I happen to think you are a very interesting person," signed Spencer. Catherine simply rolled her eyes and headed up to bed. Now they were waiting backstage at the theater and Catherine was trying to stay calm. Spencer looked behind him to see Sammy and Ellie were talking to Savannah and Saul. Spencer tapped Catherine's shoulder and pointed out that Savannah and Saul were here. Catherine grinned and they went over to talk to them. Savannah hugged her and Spencer and grinned.

"It's good to see you," signed Catherine. Savannah hugged Spencer and it still amazed him how far they had come.

…...

October 2017

Spencer was finishing up some of the files on his desk when Garcia tapped him on the shoulder.

"Someone's here to see you," said Garcia with a grin. Spencer turned around and standing there was a girl with short blonde hair with a pink streak on it wearing a pink dress and black sweater. Spencer took a moment to look at her and realized it was Savannah.

"Savannah," said Spencer and he stood up as she came over to him and hugged him.

"Hey. It's really good to see you," said Savannah.

"Thanks...you too," said Spencer. It got quiet between them and Savannah started rocking on her heels. "Do you want to go and get some coffee?"

"That would be nice," said Savannah. He told Garcia he was leaving early and they headed out and went to a small coffee shop near the BAU. They ordered and sat down across from each other. Savannah seemed so nervous and worried.

"Are you and Saul visiting Elise?" asked Spencer trying to put her at ease.

"Yeah...we're getting married," said Savannah with a small smile. Spencer had noticed the ring on her hand, but he figured she would want to tell him.

"Congratulations. I have to say the hair is a very nice touch," teased Spencer. Savannah laughed and twisted the pink in her hair.

"There was a stage show of Pretty in Pink and we all put some pink in our hair," said Savannah giving it a twist. She got quiet again and twisted her engagement ring.

"So everything is going good for you than?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah...yeah everything's great," said Savannah sounding a bit nervous. Spencer gave her a look and she took a deep breath to gather her thoughts.

"I know that I haven't been around in awhile...it's just...I needed some space from all the crazy stuff that happened here. I just...I don't know...I was worried that if I came back that I would ruin stuff here," said Savannah.

"Why would you think that?" asked Spencer.

"It was just a crazy thought in my head. I was doing really good for awhile in Chicago and than my mom found me. We had an awful fight and she made me feel so horrible about everything that had happened and I told her what a horrible person she was and she stormed off. She got in an accident a few months after that and she didn't make it. I just wondered if she hadn't of had me would her life been better. If it hadn't have been for Saul I think I would have gone really nuts," admitted Savannah.

"You could have called us anytime," said Spencer wishing they had tried to reach out more.

"I needed to fight my own fights. You guys had done more for me than anyone in my life. Saul was also there to help me fight it," said Savannah with a smile. Spencer knew how she felt about having someone there to help you fight the fight.

"Saul would always open your letters and he kept Sammy's pictures in a photo album. I finally sat down and read them all. He sounds so sweet and smart...he's really happy with you," said Savannah wiping her eyes. She reached into her purse and pulled out two folded pieces of paper. She handed it over to Spencer. He unfolded it and it was Sammy and Abby's letter to Savannah and Saul.

Hi my name is Sammy and I just wanted to say thank you. I have the best mom and dad ever. We read stories all the time and go look at stars. I really like it here and it's really nice here.

Thank you

Sammy

I want to thank you for letting my mommy and daddy have Sammy. He's a nice little brother and I love him very much. I hope you have a nice family like we do.

Abigail

Spencer had to blink back his own tears, he hoped that his children would always be this happy. He knew he missed out on a lot of things because of work, he had missed Sammy walking, Abby's first day of school, and who knew how many other events he would miss. At least for now they were happy.

"Someday I hope to have kids that love me as much as yours," said Savannah. Spencer handed her the letters back.

"You should keep these," said Spencer. She took them back and wiped her eyes again.

"I know it's asking a lot since I..." Spencer cut her off.

"Let me check with Catherine. I'm sure she would love to have you and Saul over," said Spencer.

"Will the kids be ok with us coming over?" asked Savannah.

"We'll talk to them, but it should be ok," said Spencer. She gave him a smile and Spencer couldn't help but feel a small sense of pride of how far she had come.

Spencer went home and found that Catherine was grading, his dad had offered to take the kids to park while she tried to finish up some work.

"He said he would have them home before dinner. I guess that means I need to start cooking," signed Catherine sitting her work aside. He followed her downstairs and helped her get chicken and rice ready for dinner.

"So I had a visitor today. Savannah came by the BAU today," signed Spencer. Catherine looked at him stunned.

"How is she?" asked Catherine.

"She's fine. Her and Saul are getting married," signed Spencer. Catherine couldn't help but smile.

"That's great. I had a feeling about them," admitted Catherine.

"She wanted to know if she and Saul could come over for dinner," signed Spencer. Catherine looked stunned and Spencer took her hand.

"It's going to be ok. It's just dinner...she wants to see Sammy. She knows that he's happy with us. I think she also missed you a bit," signed Spencer. Catherine turned a bit pink and hugged him.

"If the kids are ok with it than I will be ok," signed Catherine. They sat them down after dinner and told them that Sammy's birth parents were in town and wanted to visit.

"It's just a visit?" asked Abby. She had that look Spencer gave her when he wasn't buying something.

"That's all," said/signed Catherine. Sammy looked at them and nodded.

"It's ok. It's just a visit and they were your friends right?" asked Sammy.

"Yes they were," said/signed Spencer.

…...

After that night Saul and Savannah started visiting more often and writing letters and e-mailing them. Spencer had a feeling that Savannah was looking for the thing he had always wanted, to have a family and while no papers were signed she introduced them to her friends as her parents at the wedding. She had Catherine walk her down the aisle and made him do the father-daughter dance with her. Some of the distant members of Saul's family weren't pleased with them being there and had some rather rude remarks about 'that white couple' who 'took the baby'. Thankfully the children didn't hear those remarks and Elise removed them from the wedding stating if they couldn't respect her family they had no place there. Savannah looked near tears and had to be consoled by Saul and Catherine. Elise shook her head.

"You know your family is the best place he could have ended up. Honestly I was worried that she would give it to strangers and I would never see my grandson. Instead I have two grandchildren out of this." She patted Spencer on the shoulder and went back to the wedding. Spencer headed back in and found that Abby and Sammy were dancing with Saul's older sister and grinned. He knew that adults could be just as horrible as children, but they were a family no matter what people said.

…...

Saul and Savannah ended up moving to New York about a year after their wedding and a few years after that they had a their daughter, Christina and two years after that they had a son, Nicholas. After Nicholas was born Sammy sort of had a hard time understanding why they gave him to Catherine and Spencer when they kept the other kids.

"Why didn't they want to keep me?" asked Sammy. Spencer was away at a conference and Abby was staying at a friend's house so Catherine had to talk to him one on one. She hugged her son tightly and kissed him on the forehead.

"Sweetie it wasn't that they didn't want too, they weren't ready. They do love you and that's why they let us have you. We all love you...I love you and Abby. You guys are my life and you have no idea how happy you make me and daddy," said/signed Catherine. He looked at her conflicted and she wished she could make him understand how much she loved him.

"Can I call and talk to them?" asked Sammy.

"Let me text them first," said/signed Catherine feeling horrible and not understanding why. She sent Savannah a text that Sammy really needed to talk to her. She gave the ok to have him call her. She handed Sammy the phone and he went to his room. Catherine sighed and wanted to cry, he was almost ten and it made her feel so old. They were growing up and they were becoming their own people, despite still needing her and Spencer to do things for them. About an hour later Sammy came out of his room and sat next to her.

"She said that she didn't have a good mom and that she didn't think she would be a good mom for me. She knew you would be a good mom since you were good to her...she said she learned to be a good mom from you," said/signed Sammy.

"You gonna be ok?" asked Catherine. Sammy just leaned over and hugged her.

"I love you mom," whispered Sammy.

…...

2042

"So are you ready?" teased Sammy and Catherine gave him a look. They were about to the start the show and Spencer had gone to take his seat with Savannah and Saul.

"This is a bit too much," signed Catherine. "What are we even going to talk about? Can I tell them how many times I put you in time out?"

"Trust me it's going to be fine. This is something I've been kicking around for awhile and it's not going to work without you," said/signed Sammy giving her puppy dog eyes.

"If I didn't love you so much," signed Catherine. Sammy hugged her.

"I'm going to go out and do the introduction and than you and my assistant Kelly is going to be your voice for the recording," said/signed Sammy pointing to a tall woman with red hair.

"They're ready to start," said/signed Kelly. Sammy nodded and hugged her again.

"See you soon," he signed and headed out to the stage. Catherine could feel how loud everyone was out in the auditorium. He was after all somewhat famous from the crime show he had created and some other shows he had written for. Than he did these shows on the side and would send her and Spencer transcripts of some of them and she couldn't help but feel proud of him. Kelly started signing what was being said on stage and it was all she could do not to cry and laugh out loud at the same time.

…...

"So this is going to be a bit different than the other shows I do. I do one with Ellie about Quantico. I do shows with other writers about our work and than there are the ones were I just talk smack about everything. This one is going to be a bit more personal. I've talked in interviews about being adopted and have talked about my birth parents and I have talked about how my father inspired the show I created, but I've never really talked about my mother.

The reason I've decided to do this now is because I finally understand what her role in life was now that I've become a parent and have found my best friend in life. I find myself looking at my daughter and knowing how she's going to think about Ellie because it's the way I thought about my mother. She's going to think Ellie is boring, like I thought my mother was boring."

"Now we all think our parents are boring, but I thought my dad had the exciting life since he was an FBI agent. When I would ask my mom how her and my dad met, she would just tell me that she and my dad met when they were kids. So I just assumed that they had dated since they were teenagers, that they did the long distant thing when my mom was going to school in Boston and my dad was doing his FBI training and when my dad got his BAU post she moved to DC to be with him. I thought that for years until I started doing the research for Quantico."

…...

2040

"What are these?" asked Sammy dropping some papers on the counter. Sammy had gone up into the attic to read some of Gideon's old journals about his days at the BAU. Spencer picked them up and sighed before handing them to Catherine. She turned a bit pink and looked at Sammy slightly embarrassed. They were her divorce papers from Paul.

"You were married before dad?" asked Sammy shocked.

"Sweetie it was a very long time ago and I was barely in my twenties," signed Catherine. Sammy sat down and looked at her shocked.

"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Sammy. Catherine gave him a look.

"Have you told us all the things you did in college?" asked Catherine and Sammy ducked his head.

"You...that's different! You were married!" protested Sammy. Catherine grinned at Spencer as he went to make tea.

"Yes. We were married for a few months and we realized we weren't right for each other. We divorced and we each remarried to people who we were more suited to. He married a nice lawyer and they've had four kids. I got your father," signed Catherine.

"But you guys didn't get married until like 2000 and whatever. What was deal?" asked Sammy.

"We started dating in 2006 and wanted to be sure things were right," said/signed Spencer.

"Wait. We're you not cool with her getting married?" asked Sammy. Catherine gave Sammy a look.

"Sweetie it was so long ago the details don't matter," said/signed Catherine. Sammy shook his head.

"I need to go find some brain bleach to block out that the fact you dated...married other people," said/signed Sammy. He said his goodbyes and ran off with the books he needed. Catherine took a cup of tea and grinned at Spencer.

"I think I broke his brain. Who would have thought mom had the crazy life?" teased Catherine.

"I'm sure he'll get over the fact that you were sexual involved with someone else in your twenties," signed Spencer and Catherine laughed.

"Do you think he'll turn up anything on you with a Google imagine search?" she joked.

"I was a 'mystery man' in all those photos," signed Spencer and she laughed.

"Still I think you might take the cake with yours. I was just married. You made out with an actress in pool," signed Catherine.

"In all fairness she kissed me first," signed Spencer.

"Yes, I know darling," she grabed her tea, gave him a kiss and headed to office to grade. Spencer shook his head. He wondered what would happen if he told his son that his mother had a one night stand when she was an exchange student in Australia. Or that she had made him lose one of his socks during a stay at the cabin. Oh yes there was a number of stories they could each tell Sammy to make his head explode.

…...

2042

"I never even thought in my wildest dreams that my mom would even look at another guy let alone marry another guy. It was this werid thing to realize that had she not left the first guy when she did, she wouldn't have reconnected with my dad when she did and in recconnecting with my dad she got to meet my birth parents. That my sister and I exist because my mom wanted to give my dad another chance. She was willing to take this huge risk to be with my dad again. They hadn't spoken in years and she didn't know how he was going to react to her showing up. She moved her whole life to DC on a hope that he still loved her, because she still loved him. It sounds like a chick flick troupe, but it took guts to admit that she wanted to be with my dad. My dad is the bravest guy I know, but he couldn't take the chance to reach out to her again. She had to take the step and in taking that step she gave him a family."

"Until I became a parent and married Ellie I never really understood what my mother's life was like. I travel a lot for work and luckly I have a job that sometimes allows me to have my family with me when I work. When my dad went to work he could be gone for weeks at a time and my mom would single parent us the way Ellie does when I can't be with her and damn it's trying. I called Ellie one night we finished shooting and she was in tears. The baby was sick, she was sick, the sewer had backed up in the basement and she was just tired of everything."

"And I felt horrible...like ' Holy shit I have stuck her with the worst fucking job in the world.' Than I remembered this day when I was about nine: my dad had been gone for about four days and we had day from hell-just everything went horribly fucking wrong-I missed the bus, my mom was running late with Abby for school, she came to pick me up from baseball and her tire blew out, we burned dinner and the icing on top of the cake was a storm hitting that night and the roof started leaking in the kitchen. She clamly pulled out a pot, sat it under the leak, looked at us and begged us to not tell our father about today. She wanted to spare him that ' you're an asshole' feeling I was getting from Ellie. And who knows they were probably times when my mom let my him know that he had stuck with the worst fucking job in the world and hopefully they'll be a day when Ellie will plead with our kids to not tell me what happened when I was gone to spare me that 'you're an asshole' feeling."

"I wouldn't have the life I have without Ellie in it and I can't imagine my dad having the life he's had without my mom in it. So I'm taking a chance to sit down with my mom and find out her story. So please welcome my mother to the stage Catherine Reid."

Spencer watched Catherine walk out with one of Sammy's assisants near tears and very pink in the face and hug their son. He hugged her back hard and gestured to the chair for her to take a seat.

"So...where do start?" asked Sammy with a grin.

…...

Three months later

"The way an Un-Sub lures his victims speaks to their level of confidence with the kill. If I'm calm and charming towards my victims I can easily lure them away, even manage to convince authorities that I'm not any trouble. Dahmer himself was so confident he actually talked police officers into believing that one of his escaped victims was a drunk boyfriend. Even when they entered his apartment they noted that the apartment smelled like excrement they still left the apartment and Dahmer with his victim," explained Spencer. He looked over and saw Melissa, the normal instructor for this class tapping her watch.

"Any questions?" asked Spencer. One of the cadets, a tall dark haired girl with glasses raised her hand. Her name tag read Bethany. "Yes."

"Do you feel the the confidence is what gets them caught in the end?"

"Their ego does lead to their downfall, but we are the ones who catch them in the end," said Spencer. Bethany went to say something when Melissa came up the podium.

"I think that's all the time we have for today. If we could thank Dr. Reid for his time," said Melissa. The class clapped polite and Melissa shook his hand. "Hopefully with his upcoming retirement he'll have more time to come and teach." He only had two days left until his time with the FBI was finished.

"We'll see," said Spencer gathering up his notes. Melissa nodded and went to get ready for her next class.

"Dr. Reid," said Bethany standing their looking nervous. God they all look so young now...

"Yes," said Spencer.

"I was hoping to pick your brain about your time at the BAU," said Bethany.

"Well there is a lot to pick through," joked Spencer trying to put her at ease. Bethany let out a small laugh and started following him.

"Well it's sort of a question of a personal nature. I read that the BAU travels a lot, how often did you travel?" asked Bethany.

"It could be at least one or two weeks a month...close to three to four months out of the year," said Spencer and Bethany grim.

"That sort of changes plans than," said Bethany.

"What plans?" asked Spencer.

"Well I had planned on joining the BAU after I finished my training, but the thought of not being home with my family for such long stretches of time is really not appealing," admitted Bethany.

"You're married?" asked Spencer. Bethany sort of grinned and held up her left hand to show a small gold wedding ring.

"He got a job here at the NSA so he'll be here all the time. It just doesn't seem like a good fit," admitted Bethany.

"I've been married over thirty years and have two kids," said Spencer and Bethany looked a little surprised. "Well married for over thirty, I won't count the years we've spent dating. It's was difficult at times, but we made it work. Give it some serious thought." Bethany nodded and walked away. Spencer twisted his ring and headed to the BAU to start cleaning out his office.

"Not bad advice," teased a voice. Spencer turned to see JJ leaning against the wall.

"JJ," said Spencer and he went over and hugged her.

"Congrats on finally getting out of here. I was worried you were going to pull a Rossi and stay here until you were eighty," teased JJ.

"I did promise Catherine a trip to France...if I go back on my word, she'll need Henry as a lawyer," teased Spencer.

"Oh I'm sure he'll love having the 'Catherine Reid' as a client," laughed JJ. In the months since Sammy's show with Catherine had started it had become rather popular. It was odd to go out and have people come up to them and thank Catherine for sharing her story, Sammy released it in a video form so the Deaf could see it. It had helped some people deal with being a new parent, a single parent or a parent with a spouse who worked away from home.

"It's very odd to realize my wife has a fan base. Thankfully all her fans seem to be normal," said Spencer. He and JJ walked back to the BAU. JJ had retired a few years ago after Will had a heart attack. Henry had gone onto law school and was a prosecutor in Virigina. Her daughter Marie was an NPR correspondence and currently living in San Francisco. JJ and Will were in the process of moving back to New Orleans. Will wanted to go home and be near his family, JJ agreed since the kids were grown and the rest of her BAU family was starting to move on.

"Have you seen Emily lately?" asked JJ.

"She's doing better. I think her moving in with Jody and the baby is helping her get over Hotch," said Spencer.

Hotch had passed away three years ago, his old wounds from the Reaper attack had caused liver damage that was beyond repair. He and Emily had gotten married a short time after he and Catherine had their second wedding and Emily moved back to DC. She got a position at a woman's shelter and considering her history helping people disappear she was very good at her job. She still helped there from time to time, but the center of universe right now was her granddaugher. Jody and her husband both did work for the DEA-He has an agent and Jody trained all their scent hounds. Clearly her love of dogs hadn't passed the way Emily had hoped. Jack was a teacher at Zeller, taking over a post once held by Jody's late father. It was odd before Catherine had retired she worked with Jack and the drama club.

"Jack's putting on The Priates of Penzance for the play this year," said Spencer. "He's asked the school board if he could put the funds towards a drama scholarship." JJ smiled, clearly the boy remembered how his parents had fallen in love during that play.

"According to Catherine he was getting rather chummy with her replacement," said JJ.

"Nina's a nice girl...and he has been asking for help on his signing," said Spencer with a smile.

"So do you know when Garcia is coming in?" asked JJ.

"She's coming in from Chicago next week. Sammy asked her to come and talk about meeting Catherine for the first time," said Spencer. Garcia and Kevin had moved to Chicago after Hotch and Emily got married. Kevin's father had passed away and his mother was ill and moving her to DC was not an option. They all thought after Kevin's mother passed she would come back to the BAU, however she had found a job at a non profit working with children who wanted to learn programming and even after her mother-in-law's passing she couldn't pull herself away.

…...

2023

"It's gonna be hell to replace you baby girl," said Morgan raising his glass in a toast.

"Don't be like that," said Emily giving him a shove. They were holding a going away party for Garcia at Derek's house. JJ and Catherine were outside playing with the kids and Kevin was haiving a final game with his Pathfinder group. The rest of the gang were sitting around Morgan's kitchen table having drinks.

"My moving to Chicago is a reason for you to come home and visit your family. Besides I have babies here I need to spoil. You and your pretty lady need to give me some babies Derek Morgan," teased Garcia. Morgan's girlfriend, Jessica came into the dining room with a fresh bottle of wine and laughed.

"I don't make babies without a wedding first," she joked kissing Morgan. Jessica was a nurse Morgan had been set up it, however it seemed to be working better than most of his relationships.

"Ah weddings are just a formality," teased Will.

"Says the man who begged for a wedding for...three...four years?" teased Hotch.

"It was for my mother," said Will and everyone at the table laughed.

"I won't even tell you about the amount of pressure Andrew put on Catherine to get married," said Spencer.

"It's highly overrated," said Rossi sipping his scotch.

"Says the master of divorce," joked Emily.

"Aren't we supposed to celebrating something," teased Rossi.

"Oh yes. We're all proud of you sweetheart," said Morgan hugging Garcia.

"I just. I love those kids guys. I understand why Catherine does what she does. I'm going to have to give up my shoe habit, but they are so worth it guys," said Garcia and she told them a few stories about some of the kids she was helping. "You should just see their faces when they learn something new. It's just amazing to see."

"We're going to miss you," said Spencer. Garcia came over and hugged him tightly.

"I'm planning on Skyping your wife at least three times a week," said Garcia.

"I'm sure she love that," said Spencer.

"So I have to ask something. Is it true you followed his wife around when they first meet?" asked Jessica and they all started laughing.

"He never brought her around!" protested Garcia.

"You pulled her credit card records," countered Spencer and he told Jessica about how Garcia showed at cafe near Catherine's school and got her into a corner table and talked to her for over an hour.

"Should I feel lucky that I didn't get this treatment," said Jessica.

"Whose to say you didn't," said Garcia sipping her wine with a grin. She picked up her glass and went outside to join JJ, Catherine and the kids.

"That's not funny," said Jessica looking worried.

"I'm worried about what she did when I was dating JJ," said Will.

…...

"Oh honey slow down. Mommy can't run that fast," called JJ to Henry,Sammy and Jack. She was six months pregnant and felt like she was nine months along. Catherine, Abby and Jody were playing a swing set Morgan had built for the kids. Henry and Sammy were playing tag and somehow JJ got roped in to playing.

"I can't run either," said Garcia sitting down at the patio table. Catherine told Abby and Jody she was going to talk to Penny and to go play with the boys. Catherine went over and sat with Garcia and JJ threw up her hands and went over to join the other woman.

"I think I gave Jessica a good scare," teased Garcia.

"Why?" asked Catherine.

"Got to make sure she treats my baby right," said/signed Garcia. JJ rolled her eyes and rubbed her midsection.

"I expect your butt back here when I pop her out," said/signed JJ.

"It's an unfair joke that I decide to leave and you're going to have a baby girl. I love my boys, but I need a little more girl power in my life," said/signed Garcia.

"Well after this this I'm shutting it down. I'm getting too old for this," said/signed JJ.

"Whatever," signed Catherine. She looked over to make sure the kids were playing ok and turned back to group. "I hope you know that I'm going to be bring the kids out during the summer with or without Spencer," signed Catherine.

"Oh I want to take them to Lego Land!" cried Garcia.

"I really hate stepping on those," signed Catherine.

"They are terrible," agreed JJ. Emily came out to join them and looked at all the kids playing and smiled.

"I'm going to miss you ladies so much," said/signed Garcia. Catherine took her hand and squeezed.

"This is going to be good for you," signed Catherine.

"I hope to be half the teacher you are," said/signed Garcia.

"You helped catch some of the worst serial killers in the world. Teaching is going to be breeze," said/signed Emily and Catherine gave her a look.

"I think you get paid better than I do," said/signed Catherine.

"I will miss shoe shopping," said/signed Garcia. The group sat their quietly watching the kids play and Garcia got a little glassy eyed.

"Kevin and I have been thinking about having kids, but part of me is terrified of having a baby without you ladies near me," admitted Garcia. "I mean Kevin's sisters are out there, but it's not the same." Catherine leaned over and hugged Garcia hard.

"I was so scared when I found out I was pregnant with Abby and I felt so alone when it happened. I promise you won't be alone...you let us know and I promise one of us will be on the first plane out to be with you," said Catherine softly. They recalled when Catherine was pregnant with Abby when Emily was 'dead'. It hadn't been a good time for any of them. Catherine had hid her pregnancy for close to four months before telling them. Catherine's pregnancy had helped bring them back together and reminded them that they were a family.

"I'm gonna miss you guys," said/signed Garcia hugging each of them. A week later she and Kevin were back on a plane to Chicago. About a year later Garcia found out she was pregnant and Catherine and Emily were the first two out to Chicago to see their god daughter- Lily Catherine Lynch. They were also the first two out about three years later when Garcia had her son-Eric Morgan Lynch. Garcia was about six months with her third child when she married Jessica and Morganat a park near his childhood home. Spencer served has the best man and Catherine played her own part in the wedding holding Morgan and Jessica's son Adian during the ceremony.

…...

2042

The office was almost cleaned out. JJ had taken some boxes down to the car and left to go meet Henry for a late lunch. Spencer sat at the desk that Hotch had once sat behind and sighed. It was so odd to think this would be coming to end soon. His replacement was picked, a woman named Maggie Wu. She had been his student for years and now she was going to take his place. Maggie was tough and smart, she reminded him of Emily and JJ in so many ways. She would do right by the BAU, if it was anyone else he wouldn't feel alright leaving.

There was a light tap on the office door and Spencer turned to see Lissa standing in the doorway holding some boxes.

"I found you some more boxes sir," said Lissa. Spencer gave her a small smile and waved her in. Lissa was still new to the BAU, but she was shaping up to be a great agent. She brushed her short red hair back and sat the boxes down.

"It sort feels like the end of era," teased Lissa looking around the office. "Do you want some help in here?"

"I wouldn't mind it," said Spencer. Lissa nodded and started with the books on one of the bookcases.

"So would it be to forward of me to ask what you plan on doing with your retirement. You really don't seem like the golfing type," said Lissa. Spencer laughed and put some framed pictures in a box.

"I'm pretty sure my wife has some ideas," said Spencer. Lissa grinned and put some more books in the box. She started taking photos off the shelf and she paused.

"I know I haven't been here long, but I am going to miss you. I enjoyed learning for you," said Lissa.

"Thank you," said Spencer. Lissa looked at the framed photo, it was one of him and kids at Morgan's wedding.

"I like listening to your son's podcasts, plus his TV show is awesome," admitted Lissa turning a little pink.

"Well considering it's one of the top rated shows in the country I'm not surprised you're a fan," said Spencer. She put the photos in the box for him.

"You guys are gonna be so hard to live up too," said Lissa.

"We just wanted to help people and that's all you need to do," said Spencer.

"Does it get easier...the ones you couldn't help?" asked Lissa.

"No," admitted Spencer. "If that's the only thing you focus on though it will make this job impossible. You have to focus on the ones you do help. It's them that make the difference. Also a life outside this place helps," said Spencer. Lissa laughed.

"Well I do have a kniting group on Thursday nights," said Lissa.

"Knit some colorful," said Spencer. They finished packing up the office in slience. Lissa went to work on her paperwork and Spencer took his boxes out to his car and started the drive home. Catherine was sitting outside reading a book when he came home. He sat down next to her and she looked up him and grinned.

"How was your day?" asked Catherine.

"Good. Taught a class, packed up my office and now all the boxes are in the car. How was your talk with Sammy today?" asked Spencer.

"We talked about me going to high school at thirteen...actually we need to talk. If I keep this up with Sammy how do...do I talk about our bad times. He doesn't know how bad things were between us in the past. Could I get you in trouble for talking about what happened in Georgia? Or the Emily thing? I wanna be honest with him and with the people who listen to the show, but...what if our past hurts him?" asked Catherine. Spencer took her hand and squeezed. He had a feeling that this might come up, how would his son react to find out he a problem with drugs. That they had separated when she was pregnant with Abby. It had been over 20 years since he had taken any drugs and all those cases he worked during that time were so air tight nothing could be overturned. It was their children opinions that worried him.

"We'll have to tell him, there isn't a way around it. It had a huge impact on our realationship," signed Spencer.

"We'll talk to him together off mike. How mad do you think he's gonna be?" asked Catherine.

"He'll be a little mad...but he's learning that we had a long road before him. A lot it was bumpy," signed Spencer.

"It's been really smooth has of late. So you're really gonna go to France with me?" asked Catherine.

"Do you plan on taking someone else?" asked Spencer with a grin.

"I just never thought I would get you out the country. I know I won't get you on the beaches, but I think we'll have fun." She put her head on his shoulder and they sat their together in slience. Spencer thought about how they were gonna explain to their son about their past. Their were parts of it neither one of them were proud of, however all the good parts outweighed the bad parts. She was the best part of his life, she had given him the best parts of life and he could never thank her enough for that.

"I love you more than you will ever know," whispered Spencer.

Writer's notes-Writer's block is a bitch! It started this and deleted it at least three those who stuck with it thanks a bunch. I'm debating doing another one with Catherine and Spencer-Sort of flashback series with her talking to Sammy. I'm also debating doing a Hungry Games fic with their resident dork-Beetee. What can I say I like them dorky. I hope you all liked this fic and thank you for reading.